51黑料

DALLAS 鈥� Representing the Cardinals on Tuesday evening as both the club鈥檚 former pitcher and World Series champion and the executive in charge of scouting for the draft, Randy Flores watched as the Cardinals鈥� pick rose, improbably, from 13th overall to higher than sixth.

Jake Peavy, Boston鈥檚 alumni representative, leaned over to say he was 鈥減ulling鈥� for him.

Peavy wasn鈥檛, of course, but the effort was there.

鈥淚 was getting butterflies,鈥� assistant general manager Flores said Wednesday. 鈥淵ou want to prep yourself for it being around where you (expect to) draft, and then all of sudden things started happening.鈥�

The Cardinals entered the MLB draft lottery with the fourth-worst chance of a pick in the top six and exited with a stunning rise, all the way to fifth. They have the highest pick of any team with a winning record this past season and their highest pick since taking J.D. Drew at No. 5 in 1998. With last year鈥檚 seventh pick, this is the first time in club history they鈥檝e had top 10 picks in back-to-back seasons. And that鈥檚 just the beginning.

As the Cardinals focus inward on replenishing, reviving and modernizing the farm system, they have significant chances to boost their talent in the 2025 MLB draft. A year ago, the Cardinals had only one pick, No. 7, in the top 79. This summer, they鈥檒l have three in the top 73, if not top 70 by the end of the free-agent period. The Cardinals received a competitive balance pick as a bonus, and officials have said they do not intend to sign a free agent this winter who will cost them a pick.

鈥淭he pool of players we鈥檙e in play on is much, much larger,鈥� Flores said.

The bonus purse they鈥檒l have to spend will be, too.

In the past, the mix of more money to spend and more picks higher in the draft has prompted the Cardinals to use one of them on a higher-ceiling, lesser-certainty talent.

鈥淭here was some appetite, acceptance of risk knowing that you have a few shots,鈥� Flores said during his first public comments about the draft lottery. 鈥淚 think there is some precedent for that mindset.鈥�

The Cardinals do not expect Ethan Holliday, son of Cardinals icon Matt Holliday and brother of Orioles rookie Jackson Holliday, to be available at No. 5 this coming July. They will, of course, scout the prep infielder from Oklahoma as intensely as any other candidate for fifth overall. The Cardinals do already have a good feel for the family, and it鈥檚 difficult to see how Ethan Holliday would not be the pick if available at No. 5.

Before using the seventh overall pick a year ago on West Virginia infielder JJ Wetherholt, the Cardinals had to adjust their approach to scouting 鈥� which usually eschewed devoting too much time to the clear top picks so that they could focus more on the more uncertain players available to them in the back half of the first round. Flores said he discussed with a colleague Wednesday morning how they鈥檙e ahead of the approach for 2025 because of what they put in place for 2024.

鈥淭here was so much newness prepping for it,鈥� said Flores, who has helmed the Cardinals鈥� drafts since 2016. 鈥淯sually the board clears itself sometimes when you draft at 23. At 7, there are more options. So the depth and length of discussions (are longer) ... knowing there was a whole bucket of players that we were not going to be in play with in the third round because they鈥檙e not there and high school players would be off the board or unsignable with our bonus pool. Now, we have those two things in our favor here.鈥�

A wild card has been injected into the draft calculus for clubs like the Cardinals.

The rise of name, image and likeness spending in college sports adds a financial component to drafting players who can return to college. Major League Baseball teams are no longer just bidding against a scholarship 鈥� they鈥檙e bidding against boosters and supporters who, in some cases, can pay a college-bound player more via NIL than a big league team can through its bonus pool. And that can change after the pick is made and the bidding begins.

鈥淚 think the complicating factor is that the goalposts can be moved,鈥� Flores said. 鈥淲hen you go into a draft you have a general idea of someone鈥檚 signability and then their college finds out that they鈥檙e about to lose them and now you have a donor step up or someone else commit more, and you鈥檙e dealing with a different set of numbers than you had before. That鈥檚 the risk.鈥�

Asked Wednesday if that would make the Cardinals shy away from a high school player at No. 5 so they don鈥檛 miss their fortunate rise in the draft, Flores said no.

It just adds more importance to knowing a deal can be done.

鈥淵ou have to nail it,鈥� Flores said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the pressure.鈥�

Brewers pluck lefty Thomas in Rule 5

The Milwaukee Brewers, a rival with a knack for improving pitchers, selected lefty Connor Thomas off the Cardinals鈥� Class AAA Memphis roster during Wednesday鈥檚 Rule 5 draft. Thomas, 26, went 7-4 with a 2.89 ERA in 56 games (three starts) for the Redbirds this past season, his fourth consecutive season with at least 20 appearances in Triple-A.

Milwaukee took Thomas with the 13th pick of the draft, and by rule, Thomas must spend the entirety of the coming season on Brewers鈥� active 26-player roster or injured list for them to maintain his rights. If Milwaukee does not keep him in the majors, Thomas will pass through waivers and then be offered back to the Cardinals.

The Cardinals did not make any selections in the Rule 5 draft.

Picking toward the middle of the round, the Cardinals were reluctant to add a player without minor league options to their roster. They saw that as too restrictive for their goal of creating playing time for young players 鈥� and, at times, cycling through players from Class AAA.

To backfill Thomas鈥� absence from Memphis, the Cardinals selected lefty Oddanier Mosqueda from the Yankees in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. They also selected right-hander Angel Gonzalez from the Cubs, right-hander Jawilme Ramirez from the Mets and outfielder Miguel Ugueto from Boston.

Starter prices mean calls to Cardinals?

Juan Soto鈥檚 15-year, $765 million deal wasn鈥檛 the only record-setting deal of the meetings. The Yankees, jilted by Soto, reportedly signed starter Max Fried to an eight-year, $218 million that will be a record for left-hander. That continued the skyrocketing cost of starting pitchers as Nathan Eovaldi signed for three years and $75 million 鈥� matching Sonny Gray鈥檚 deal with the Cardinals 鈥� and Luis Severino landed a team-record $67 million deal from Oakland.

Those rising salaries already sent Boston to trade for White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet. And the market could bend toward the Cardinals鈥� offerings, too.

Gray has already told the Cardinals his preference is to remain in 51黑料, as has starter Miles Mikolas. But the Cardinals expect to field interest in Erick Fedde and Steven Matz from teams still shopping for starters. The Cardinals have left open the possibility of signing a starter later in the offseason to a shorter-term deal if they can deal a starter for prospects to aid their minor league infusion.

Boras on Cardinals 鈥榓rch鈥�

Superagent Scott Boras, who hasn鈥檛 had much reason this offseason to speak with the Cardinals, was offered a chance to speak about the Cardinals on Wednesday. Boras, who will be beside client Soto on Thursday in Queens to discuss the largest contract in pro sports history, has often talked about his fondness for the Cardinals as an organization and its history of contending. He also referred once to how the Cardinals sit upon the 鈥渂ank of 51黑料.鈥�

Asked on Wednesday about the Cardinals 鈥渞eset鈥� and stepping back from spending, Boras took the chance for one of his signature riffs.

鈥淲ell, I guess it鈥檚 all about arches,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he idea of it is sometimes the elevator works and sometimes it doesn鈥檛. So to get to the top or bottom, I think, a lot of it has to do with the mechanics of the operation.鈥�